Chapter 3

Only then did everyone realize what was happening.

With the return of the Flower Goddess, every flower in the world, whatever its season, would bloom in unison, proclaiming to the Six Realms that the chief deity had returned to her rightful place.

The clanspeople began to whisper among themselves.

"I thought it was strange too. The petals that fell from the ascension should have been full of spiritual energy, yet no matter how I circulated my power just now, I couldn't absorb any of it."

"Yes, same for me. It was as if that spiritual energy passed right by me and simply wouldn't stay."

"Seraphelle's cultivation isn't strong enough, so she's faking it to hold on to the Flower Goddess's position, isn't she?"

The doubts came surging in like a tide.

Even Mother and Father looked at me with a trace of uncertainty.

Lucienne stepped forward and made a false show of smoothing things over for me.

"The Flower Goddess can compel every flower to bloom. Since my sister has ascended to Flower Goddess, why not make all the flowers bloom at once? First, to celebrate the chief deity's return, and second, to silence the gossip of the Six Realms."

I quietly channeled my inner power and suddenly discovered that there seemed to be a fire hidden inside me—the moment I used the Flower Goddess's power, I would fall into qi deviation.

What was going on?

This time, I had truly been so very careful!

Could it be the Soul-Restoring Dew Mother gave me?

My heart pounded like thunder, and I looked at Mother in nervous tension and asked:

"Mother, where did that Soul-Restoring Dew come from?"

Mother was startled, not understanding why I would ask that, and answered honestly.

"Your father and I refined it together with our combined spiritual power over forty-nine days."

Perhaps I really was too nervous; it's common for one's inner power to stagnate right after becoming a god.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Mother added, "Don't worry. Your sister went to fetch it especially for you. It hasn't been in contact with anyone else, so there's absolutely no way anything could be wrong with it."

The heart I had just set at ease shot up in suspense again.

It really was her!

I clenched my fists and forced myself to stay calm.

My name had already been engraved on the Roll of Deities, and my successful ascension was a foregone conclusion. There was no way I could be stripped of my divine position over a few words from Lucienne.

Compelling the flowers to bloom should also be mine to decide; even if I refused, there was nothing she could do about it.

The demonic essence within me could be purified, given time.

What I needed to do now was buy time.

I took a deep breath and looked straight at Lucienne.

"Making all the flowers bloom at once violates the order of the four seasons. Sister, do you want me to do this so I'll be punished by the Heavens and drag the entire Flower Fae down with me?"

The moment I finished, everyone cast doubtful glances at Lucienne.

"The Flower Goddess's register has already been entered on the Roll of Deities. It almost certainly can't be fake."

"The real question is why Lucienne insists on forcing the Flower Goddess to compel the flowers, going against Heaven. She's bound to bring divine punishment down on herself."

"I've heard the chieftain has always favored the Goddess Seraphelle. I think it's just jealousy—a deliberate attempt to frame her."

Lucienne's face turned as ugly as could be, and she squeezed out two tears.

"How could my sister think of me that way?"

"I'm only worried that if the Flower Goddess takes her place without a hundred flowers to welcome her, you'll be laughed at by the Six Realms, and people will say your position as Flower Goddess was never rightfully earned."

"If my sister has nothing to hide, why is she so agitated?"

I looked coldly at Lucienne and exposed her without mercy.

"You needn't try to provoke me. I would never do a thing like defying Heaven to compel the flowers to bloom."

"My name as Flower Goddess is on the register of gods in the Heavens—that is proof enough. Who dares to doubt me!"

Just then my fiancé, Emperor Aurelius of the Celestial Clan, arrived riding a fire qilin.

From far off came his hearty, roguish laughter.

"As expected of my future Empress—every word a gem."

In the blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of me.

"Seraphelle's position as Flower Goddess was ordained by Sovereign Celestius and is already recorded in the Divine Registry. Is Lucienne questioning Sovereign Celestius—questioning the Celestial Clan?"

Lucienne's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and tears streamed down.

"Your Majesty cannot shield Seraphelle just because she's your fiancée."

Emperor Aurelius let out a cold snort. "I have come by Sovereign Celestius's decree, in person, to welcome my fiancée."

"Lucienne keeps insisting that Seraphelle is not the true Flower Goddess. Does your empty-worded assertion carry more weight than Sovereign Celestius's divine decree?"

With that, Emperor Aurelius extended his hand to me, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.

"Little Seraphelle, come back to the Celestial Palace with me."

Lucienne bit her lip, a flicker of envious hatred crossing her aggrieved face.

"I have evidence!" she cried.

"Seraphelle is my sister. I can't bear to watch her stray down the wrong path. This is too great a matter—I truly can't keep hiding it for her any longer."

The others exchanged looks, none of them knowing what great matter she meant.

She raised her hand, and the Mirror of Retrospection floated in midair, its surface turned toward me.

My memories surfaced within the mirror.

In the mirror, I sat cross-legged in cultivation, my whole body radiating the purple aura of the Demon Clan.

I froze where I stood, as if struck by thunder.

The person in the image looked exactly like me. The Mirror of Retrospection draws out the memories of the one it reflects—it cannot be faked.

But I clearly had never practiced any Forbidden Demonic Arts, so why were the memories it showed like this?